Apple aligned itself with Nokia and Microsoft (both of which are on the WPx platform) in this purchase. I guess they both see a common enemy in Android.
The same with the FaceBook + Skype deal, Microsoft is putting their weight against Google. The big boys fighting it out, fun to watch.
Although Microsoft has a small stake in Facebook and has been a partner for a while now, the Skype integration was probably started before the buyout offer.
Impossible! I Could Code That Over A Weekend(tm).
.. FB's scale?
I get the feeling that the whole group (Apple, Nokia, Blackberry, and Microsoft) seriously wanted the LTE patents off the table. I think Google isn't in the group, not so much as a common enemy thing, but as a cannot trust them to act like the rest of the corps in a patent group. I really get the feeling that the whole h.264 thing through up warning signs to Apple and Microsoft. These actions (weird bidding, opposing h.264) appeal to Google's technically inclined supporters, but they do give business people pause.